


Coffee, Cupcakes, and the Love That Follows.

by henricken



Series: Coffee and the Love That Follows. [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mental Health Issues, More tags to be added, mostly focusing on chrobin so everything else is sort of a side ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-25 16:31:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9829592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henricken/pseuds/henricken
Summary: "Mondays were tough. Everyone knew they were tough, but they were more tough if you had insomnia and an 8 a.m class."A coffee Chrobin AU.Discontinued.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this is a WIP. I will be adding ships (mostly in the background), and my co-brainstormer and I will be coming up with more plot points.  
> But three cheers to finally getting some of my fanfiction on its feet.  
> Enjoy.
> 
> > Ricken.

Mondays were tough. Everyone knew they were tough, but they were more tough if you had insomnia and an 8 a.m class. Which is exactly what Robin had. As there hadn’t been any other time slots for the class he needed, he had to force his dreary body down 3 cold flights of stairs and across the street for coffee every Monday morning. Granted, coffee wasn’t an acceptable replacement for getting at least a few hours of good sleep, but it’s what Robin had to work with.

The coffee shop was named Emmeryn’s Coffee and Cakes, and it was the only non-chain cafe within the next couple of blocks, so Robin often visited it. The coffee was well made, the tea even better, and they always had Robin’s favorite cupcake flavors available. On more than one occasion Robin had forced Henry to buy a second double chocolate cupcake despite his best friend’s cocoa allergy. They were just too good, and Robin silently prayed to whoever baked them. But not only did Emmeryn’s Coffee and Cakes spoil his taste buds, it also had the most calming aura. The little shop was filled with plants, plush chairs, and clean wooden tables where couples shared a slice of pie, or businessmen set up their laptops. Inside, no matter what was baked or brewed, the shop smelled like vanilla. It reminded him of warm hugs he never received and the childhood he often longed to have. 

But that wasn’t important.

The owner, Emmeryn, was plenty nice as well. Robin felt fond of her, even with his introverted and distant nature. She was older than he was - about 35 - but the wisdom in her eyes spoke beyond her years, and her rosy round cheeks made her look youthful. The first time Robin had spoken to her, she expressed concern about the bags under his eyes and didn’t even blink at the venomous scowl he shot her. It was surprising, except for the fact she stood over him at a slightly above average 5’9”. After their first few conversations, where Emmeryn practically forced herself into the role of his Mom Friend (how she became a friend is unclear), Robin was finally comfortable enough around her, and she knew his order by heart. Despite, of course, her complaints that his sugar intake was far too high.

But Emmeryn wasn’t there on this dull Monday morning. Robin stood at the door, his feet feeling like stones and his eyes dry from long hours spent staring at a computer screen. Across the room, at the counter, was a tall, broad man with blue hair and matching eyes. As Robin walked closer, the man’s smile seemed to lighten up the room around him. It pissed Robin off to no end. For such an early, gray morning. For a Monday. For any time before noon, no one should be that happy and refreshed-looking. Robin’s mind supplied that this man looked like a fucking stock image, and he had to repress a laugh in order to not look completely out of his mind. 

Stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets, Robin finally reached the counter. He had to crane his neck to meet the man’s - Chrom’s, as the worker’s name tag suggested - eyes. They were a startling blue, and the light that danced in them was appalling to Robin’s groggy mind. 

“Good morning,” Chrom’s voice was deep and smooth, “what would you like to order?” 

Robin blinked slowly, miffed that he had to even speak and not just wave at Emmeryn for his usual. He managed to croak out the most sugar-laced regular he could find on the coffee shop’s blackboard that hung above the coffee makers. 

When he sat down at his usual table, Robin surveyed behind the counter. Nothing was really amiss. Stahl, Lissa, and Cordelia were all bustling about from table to table serving customers, cleaning up, and bringing new cakes and pies from the back. It was odd. This Chrom man was the only new addition to the shop. Emmeryn’s absence itched at Robin, but he pushed the thought away. Chrom was probably a new hire, and she might have been in the back like she sometimes was when one of the cooks, Sumia, twisted an ankle or burned herself. It was commonplace for the clutzy woman. 

Chrom’s smiling face at the cash register was quickly transformed into one of embarrassment as he brought over Robin’s order, as well as a bagel he hadn’t remembered paying for. Just as the man was about to walk away, Robin reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“I didn’t order this bagel. It must have been a mistake.” Chrom’s face flushed pink when Robin spoke clearly for the first time all morning. His grin was back, but much more nervous than their first greeting. 

“It’s on the house. You seem like you need it.” The words shocked Robin. None of the other workers seemed to be paying attention, but when he glanced at Lissa she tore her eyes away quickly. Something was up. 

Right as Robin was about to deny needing the food, his stomach growled fiercely. The noise made Chrom’s posture loosen and his smile come more naturally. 

“See? You need it. Don’t worry, I’m the owner, I can do this.”

The owner? Confused but not willing to deal with any more conversation than he had to, Robin nodded and began to tear into his food and drink. When finally under the influence of caffeine Robin was able to admit to himself that this new, blue-haired worker was fairly handsome. His shoulders were broad and his chest looked strong under the light button-ups of the coffee shop’s uniform. And when he was walking away, Robin got an eyeful of muscular ass. That image would make more than one appearance throughout the day. 

Thinking on it as he finished his drink and left the shop, Chrom wasn’t too bad. But Robin missed Emmeryn’s kind smile and her genuine interest in his classes. She was like a big sister, and she was gone. Once again shaking off the concern, Robin trudged the next couple of blocks to the bus stop. It was going to be a long day, so he might just stop for another coffee after class. Just for the great taste, and definitely not for the beautiful man now working behind the counter.


	2. Two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is edgy, and Chrom is gay. Those are not related.

Love is something that makes the world warm. Love is why people keep breathing even if they don’t want to; it makes people bend over backwards to provide the smallest pleasure to their loved ones. Love can be platonic, or romantic, or familial. No matter what form, love always swept Chrom away in its sakura pink waves and made him feel like he could reach the stars.

So when love is ripped away, the oceans of sweetness drain, and the bright blue skies dull to a hazy gray. When love is stolen, it leaves a human-shaped hole inside of the hearts that are left. The chalk outline of a corpse is now tattooed onto Chrom’s chest, branding him someone who has lost love. A similar tattoo brands a too-innocent seventeen year old that bears too much of a canny resemblance to the dead. 

For days they pressed together on Chrom’s sofa, stained wrappers of fast food littered around the living room in his apartment. Lissa was the one to shake him from his mournful state, to draw open his bedroom curtains and let the sun burn his weak eyes, too used to the blue glow of a TV screen in the dark. Her determination pulled him from his bed, and placed him back into life. There was a flurry of paperwork to be signed, and Chrom still had to learn how to actually make coffee, but soon Emmeryn’s old business was in his hesitant hands.

Thank god for Lissa’s guidance and her bubbly nature, or he would not have been able to hold the reigns at all.

So when Chrom was working at the counter on a particularly gloomy morning, he hadn’t expected his life to be turned around so quickly. He didn’t think blue skies would split the gray clouds over his heart. Especially not when the cause of his heightened heartbeat looked so...dead. The man was barely up to Chrom’s collarbone, his white hair interrupted by dark roots. Even darker shadows hung under the man’s eyes, black and dazed as if he were still asleep.

Chrom was cool. Cool as ever, actually, as he took the man’s order. But that cool was soon lost when Lissa pinched his right cheek, pulling him down to her level. 

“He’s cute. His name’s Robin, you should go give him his coffee.” Chrom sputtered at that, offended his little sister would try to butt into his love life again after what happened to all her previous attempts. 

He felt his face flush anyway, glancing over at tan skin hidden by a dark hoodie and a bored expression aimed out the window. The man was gorgeous, to Chrom’s standards, so when he finally meandered over with the customer’s order, he couldn’t help the silly grin that graced his features.

“Don’t worry, I’m the owner, I can do this.”

The customer, Robin as Lissa had labeled him, devoured his morning meal and it only served to warm Chrom’s heart more. Perhaps manning the shop wouldn’t be so bad if Robin was a regular. Emmeryn would know how to talk to pretty boys, she could give him advice if she were still around. But the image of her broken body flashed behind Chrom’s eyes again. 

***

“Nye he he! And when she came back, she had a whole ARM in her beak. It’s still in the living room.”

“It wasn’t an arm - like, not a human arm! And it better still not be bleeding onto the carpet, or I swear to the skies above, Henry, I’ll-”

“You’ll what? Spank me?”

Sometimes Robin regretted his choice of friends. Ricken wasn’t so bad, but he was put off by Robin’s pets, and by Grima too. Even though Ricken said nothing bad about her, Robin still knew. He could tell by the boy’s body language, the way he would close off whenever Grima came around. 

Henry, on the other hand, was too much sometimes. His clothes were dark but flashy, fake (or real?) blood splattered across today’s sweater. Robin didn’t understand how his best friend got away with these choices, and with being so loud about dismemberment, but he would rather not entertain the thought of a cheery Henry relaying to the principal about his adorable murder...of pet crows. 

Despite their oddities, the two boys were still Robin’s friends, Henry being his closest. And wherever Henry was, Ricken was. Though the times Robin made a point about it, he was brushed off with a blush and a stammer about being perfectly platonic partners and no more. The thought caused his lip to twitch, which Henry must have taken as a sign that his story was at all interesting. As more people joined their circle, Robin let himself drift further from the conversation, though careful to keep his feet on the ground. He thought of the handsome man that served him coffee that morning. The blue of his eyes had been haunting Robin all throughout class, reminding him of the sea and warm days spent splashing in the salty water as a child. 

A feminine voice combined with a dainty hand on his arm shook him from his daydreaming, as Robin turned to face a worried Olivia.  
“Robin, are you alright?” Olivia’s eyes sparkled with genuine concern. For that, Robin had to smile. She was always so kind. 

“Yeah, just thinking. Hey, do you know if anything happened to that lady Emmeryn? The one that runs the cafe near my apartment.”

Olivia shook her head in return, brows furrowed and lips pursed with thought, “I don’t think so. I don’t go there as often as you, so if she were gone...I wouldn’t be the one to know!” Always ending the sentence with a smile. That was his bubbly Olivia. 

Robin couldn’t let the hunch that something terrible had happened go, it stuck to the back of his head and pulled his attention away when he had nothing more to occupy himself with. Well, it was that, or strong shoulders veiled under a cafe uniform. Which was worse, there was no answer-

“That’s because you’re a child, Ricken.”

“I’m no child! I’m a legal adult! 18! Don’t pick on me because I’m in more advanced classes and you’re 23.”

“I don’t have to be in fruity tooty classes. I have street skills.”

“Gaius, you fool.”

“It is 27 and you just called me a fool.”

It was going to be quite the day.


	3. Three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys let me say 27 instead of 2017 in the last chapter. What the hell? I trusted you.

Chrom’s apartment was nice, usually. But now there were papers strewn about, coffee cups leaving stains on various furniture, and Emm’s pets loitering, their eyes questioning him of her whereabouts. 

He could only hope suicides go to heaven. 

Lissa’s voice rang down the hall in a greeting, and Chrom answered unenthusiastically. His work at the cafe wasn’t hard, he just didn’t...he didn’t want it. It was a blessing and a curse. His inheritance was running low so the new financial support was a relief, but Emmeryn was gone. Falling back on the couch, Chrom stared at the ceiling and recalled the way Emm’s soft hands would cup his face and wipe his salty tears, the way her laugh would take the breath away from all in the room despite how quiet it was. He thought back on their interlocked hands as they walked behind their parents on childhood vacations. About their interlocked hands when their mother and father were lowered into the ground, never to be seen again. 

Tears began to prick at the corners of his blue eyes, and Chrom wiped them away with the back of a hand. He thought on happier things, like all the characters he met at work. During rush hours, it was hard to catch faces or engage in small talk with customers, so he could only remember the odd few that came in between their breaks. 

A pink-haired man that began his order with a pick up line and ended it with a wink (Las-something, he thinks the name was), despite the annoyance it sparked in his counterpart - a blond man that stood above Chrom’s impressive 6’2, whose beefy arm held Las-something close by his thin shoulders. Chrom could only laugh.

There had been another funny group of men, all looking like they belonged to entirely different social groups. Their leader donned a headband that did nothing to push back his blond bangs from his baby-like face, a loud man with a Naruto shirt and hay-colored hair to match, and lastly an older man with one eye that offered innapropriate services to Chrom. Just thinking about the lecherous look in his eye made Chrom shudder - though not in an entirely negative way. 

But most importantly, Chrom reflected back onto the beautiful boy from that morning. His dark eyes, the way his voice rasped with grogginess, the way his curly hair fluffed up in an unruly fashion, right down to the light sprinkling of freckles on his dark nose. Rolling onto his side, Chrom let out a sigh. Perhaps the cute customer would be back tomorrow, maybe with an awareness of his surroundings. 

An awareness of Chrom.

The thought of attention like that made his heart skip a beat, and his breath stutter. Someone just couldn’t be that cute. They couldn’t be that cute. Really. Chrom couldn’t talk to anyone cute. But, in his imagination, he could entertain more than just talking. Not in a lewd way, not now! Not with his older sister’s death certificate hanging on his fridge, nor with the bank overflowing his mail slot with letters and demands. 

But he could think about holding small, dark hands in his own large, pale ones.

Think about ki- no! Creepy, Chrom. This was a customer, a random person he didn’t even know the last name of. Hell, that person could be a serial killer and here he was, staring off into the distance and thinking of full lips cast in a frown.

With a sigh, Chrom shook himself out of his daydreaming and went to annoy Lissa about her homework.

***

“I’m telling you, Lonnie, you can’t knock it before you tr-” Gaius.

“No.” Lon’qu.

“Are you afraid of choking on my di-” Fucking Gaius.

Where was Robin, anyway? He rubbed his eyes, turning his head to the side only to to greeted with a soft stomach. It wasn’t uncommon for him to check out when there was too much stimulation, but coming back to his own reality meant he really wished Olivia would wear a shirt that covered her entire torso. Grima may have no problems about it, but Robin didn’t really want Lon’qu to wring his neck. 

Grima might have other opinions, though.

Olivia helped Robin sit up, though he really didn’t need it. His legs shifted out of Henry’ lap - or really, what part of Henry’s lap that Ricken was not ‘platonically’ occupying. It was nice to have such physical friends. Gaius ruffling Robin’s hair, Olivia giving him soft cheek kisses, Henry being...Henry. Even Lon’qu gave Robin a firm pat on the shoulder every once in awhile. After growing up the way he had, Robin accepted all forms of affection from those he was close to. Their kind touches made him feel at home, even in Henry and Ricken’s tiny living room where all six of them could barely fit. 

Robin watched as Gaius dodged a half-hearted punch from a flustered Lon’qu. He smiled at the displays of affection, his mind flashing to the blue-haired man at the coffee shop. Chrom. The name fit his regal appearance, and Robin could only wish he was more focused during their first interaction. 

His attention was soon dragged away from the gay, however, when Lon’qu really did land a hard hit on his boyfriend and sent Gaius into the ground. A round of roughhousing ensued, the sounds of scuffling being drowned out by Olivia and Ricken’s protests. Henry just cackled, as per usual when anything violent took place. 

Robin felt at home. For so long after not having one, after so much heartache, after Grima tearing him apart only to help him put himself back together, it was...nice. 

Robin excused himself to the bathroom so no one could fret over the tears that came down. Tears full of joy.


	4. Four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue eyes met dark ones, unperturbed by the confusion and annoyance swimming in them. Robin’s slight frown was met by a sunny smile that melted the ice around his bones. He was too weak to this stranger with strong arms and a single dimple on the right side of his smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry i was gone! i've been pretty busy between school, therapy, and being a full-time mentally ill person. i'll be more frequent now, i promise! if you want more gay fire emblem, you can follow my twitter @transchrom!
> 
> WARNINGS FOR SELF HARM. it's not described, but mentioned briefly twice.

It took a week for Robin to go back to Emmeryn’s cafe. He didn’t know why he was so avoidant of this Chrom guy, aside from the glaring fact of how gay Robin feels around him. Eventually, though, Robin put his big boy shoes on and went in. The shop was like a time capsule. Nothing really ever changed, from the sweet smell to the placement of the furniture, not a speck of dust out of place. Robin always felt like he was being transported to another world once he stepped into the cafe, a world of magic and love that defeats all evil.

If only real love could defeat real evil. Grima scoffed in the back of Robin’s mind. He shushed her.

Robin was teetering between disappointed and relieved when he saw that Chrom wasn’t at the register. Instead, it was a short girl with bright red hair that curled against her face like flames. She was friendly in an aggressive way, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Robin left feeling let down.

***

Robin had good spells sometimes. He had his ups and downs, as anyone with mental illnesses would. But with any upswing, there must be a downswing. And Robin found himself falling, skidding down the slope of his poisoned brain. 

Time stopped. Robin only came to at the beginnings and ends of every day, when Grima would release her hold. He found finished homework, cooked meals, but he also found slit wrists and hickies from gods know who. Days went by, Grima did his classwork in exchange for freedom with his body, and he let her. 

When concerned messages began to flood in from his friends, Robin decided it was probably time to face reality. After assuring everyone he was alright (which took about five minutes of back-and-forth from Olivia), Robin shrugged on some clothes that didn’t smell too rotten and trudged to the coffee shop. 

Chrom was at the register. Robin froze. He had gotten a glance of his reflection in the windows, and it was nothing to smile about. White hair that usually fluffed was matted with grease and his undereye bags were more pronounced than ever. His skin felt disgusting, his neck bruised by stranger’s mouths, and his arms stung with disinfectant. Nevertheless, Chrom’s handsome face lit up upon seeing Robin, despite the horrible state he was in.

“Welcome back,” Chrom started, “I was beginning to get worried. Not in a weird way! But Lissa mentioned that you were a regular, and after an entire month and a half of absence…” 

Chrom’s muscles flexed as he went to scratch the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Robin tracked the movement with his eyes. It still didn’t affect Chrom’s cheery mood. Neither did Robin’s silence, or the way he only pointed at a bagel in the display case and a coffee written on the chalkboard overhead. Chrom understood, and rang him up. It made Robin’s little heart soar, which he belittled himself for as he chose a seat.

It didn’t take too long until his meal was in front of him, and Chrom in the chair across the table. And didn’t. Go. Away.

Blue eyes met dark ones, unperturbed by the confusion and annoyance swimming in them. Robin’s slight frown was met by a sunny smile that melted the ice around his bones. He was too weak to this stranger with strong arms and a single dimple on the right side of his smile. 

They just watched each other as Robin slowly began to eat. Grima may have fed him, but he never knew how much or how often. Chrom seemed pleased when Robin finished his bagel, washing the last bite down with a swig of coffee.

“Tell me about yourself,” Chrom said.

Panic set into Robin’s heart. Panic, and appreciation, and affection. Distrust tugged him from his seat. Depression made him say “I have to go”. Grima took him out the door.


End file.
